Have the Glazers been cleverer than we thought by bringing in Sir Jim Ratcliffe to take the heat at Man Utd?

Send your views to theeditor@football365.com

Ratcliffe is a useful idiot for the Glazers
I don’t know why United fans thought that bringing in a guy who has got rich by skirting regulations and basically asset-stripping was ever gonna work out in their favour.

His record in football was already dire in France with fans of his other teams regularly starting chants for him to leave.

Radcliffe is (yet another) superb example of the fact that many billionaires aren’t smart, they’re just in the right place at the right time and have no idea how to run a business in a stable fashion. You honestly believed the guy who did his own scouting for his other team by attending non league African games was Gonna be a step-up?

Now you’ve got rising ticket prises, the sacking of the kit man, the assassination of the tea lady (probably, how else we gonna save money on salaries? ) and all because Radcliffe claims the club are broke. At the same time he publicly chased a DOF and paid to release him from his contract, while also firing a manager and paying out his contract and then paying to break the contract of another manager and his staff and THEN firing the DoF who he paid to bring in.

Radcliffe is the moronic shield behind which the Glazers will hide. They’re smarter than people give them credit for, they knew this useful idiot would f*** everything up and take the heat off them.

Someone also mentioned nobody knows what a sporting director does, I do. Their job is basically to oversee the incoming and outgoing staff and players. They also create long term sporting strategy for the club. Loan manager deals with on loan players and their progress. Technical director is responsible for the actual contracts offered and signed for retaining, incoming and outgoing staff – so for the Liverpool fans annoyed that Hughes hasn’t sorted out contracts yet you’re blaming the wrong dude – our technical director is Julian Ward. It’s his job.

So now if you wanna blame someone in future and say they’re useless at least you’ll know how to measure it and who to blame.
Lee

MORE MAN UTD COVERAGE ON F365…
👉 Man Utd staff ‘disgruntled’ after new ‘brutal’ Ratcliffe ‘cut’ with situation ‘worse’ than under Glazers
👉 Man Utd: Romano reveals ‘active talks’ for Amorim signing with INEOS repeating ‘future talent’ transfer
👉 Man Utd have ‘already chosen’ replacement for Amorim starter as Euro giants face ‘major dilemma’

…To recap, since INEOS have taken a stake in MUFC:

– Our losses are still in the same order of magnitude (@ 390M)

– We’ve spent another fortune (@ 600M) on players with no noticeable increase in on field performance

– The club publicly humiliated a manager so that his situation became untenable, then gave him an extension, then fired him a couple of months later

– Spent millions on getting a Technical Director and then firing him 5 months later

– Fired dozens of staff whose wages amount to less than Casemiro and Rashford

– Raised prices

– Hoofed Fergie out of his honorary role

– And the roof still leaks

Does this sort of management style sound familiar? Call me a cynic but I think the Glazers got sick of being the focus of all the fan discontent and got Radcliffe in simply to do the dirty work they no longer had the stomach for. It’s all a bit “Meet the New Boss, same as the Old Boss” isn’t it? Personally I see NOTHING different at MUFC, and in some way, things are worse. At the very least, it has been a public relations disaster.

I think we’ve all experienced working for a dysfunctional company where favorites or incompetents are rewarded or promoted above you, new management come in “talking to talk” only to make matters worse. No wonder people become disillusioned and either phone it in or look for other jobs.

Right now, I’d even take Elon Musk or Assad (now when he says “heads will roll…”) instead of this “Death by Committee” approach which slowly killing all hope.
Adidasmufc (We are fast being a soap opera “Real Husbands of Salford”)

Target the Europa
I think anyone, who has even the basic knowledge of football, knew that the current Utd players were not suitable for the way Amorim wants to play. Hell they not suitable for any style of football. Amorim I’m sure knew that before he arrived and the games he has presided over will have reinforced that belief.

United won’t be relegated and they are not going to qualify for Europe via the league, probably finish anywhere from 8th to 15th. I think the best thing he can do is concentrate on the Europa League, which is winnable even for this Utd team. Play his best 11 for that and then he can rotate for league games. If they win it they are in the CL.

I would probably pass on same advice to Ange. Both would get a huge boost by A. winning a cup and B. qualifying for CL. So a Utd V Spurs final in Bilbao?
Ken, Cork, Ireland

Spursiness? Or is it just Levyneess?
Of course, imbuing a football club with a personality such as ‘Spursy’ does not really make sense. They are football clubs, corporations, they don’t have personalities. There are well run clubs, and less well run clubs. Well run clubs tend to do better than poorly run clubs.

Before the PL, Spurs would generally win a few trophies a decade and although we were viewed as inconsistent, the concept of ‘spursiness’ did not exist. It is a notion that has really come into being due to our failure to win trophies during the PL era. I understand where it comes from – there is an oddness about our inconsistency. But really, I would contend there is a degree of over-achievement about Spurs in the PL. We have never been one of the rich clubs. Generally sixth or seventh richest, but actually a huge financial gap to the richest clubs.

Success in the PL is greatly about finance, but it does also depend on running the club well. And this is where we do fall into an odd category. We have a chairman who has done a remarkable job on the business side. He has closed the financial gap to the G14 clubs without a financial injection from an oligarch or state sponsor. He did it from a period of time when we were effectively locked out of the CL cash cow. He has built a state of the art training centre and a magnificent stadium that will make us financially strong for decades to come.

Levy became chairman in 2001 at a time when the PL was dominated by financial juggernauts. Spurs were still recovering from the financial mess we were in from the early nineties. There was a financial gulf between the top 4 and the rest. While the ‘big’ clubs raked in huge windfalls from the CL and the uneven share of TV money, Spurs had well and truly missed the PL gravy train. At that time we were absolutely a mid-table team. Spurs had no more right than teams like Aston Villa, Everton, Leeds or Newcastle to become a team that consistently challenged for top 4. Yet somehow over the next decade, Levy’s financial acumen meant Spurs did become a team that challenged for the CL places, and have continued to do so surprisingly consistently over the last 15 years.

On the other hand, he is a chairman who clearly has no football vision, but still insists on being very hands on with the football side of operations. A chairman who has gone through 12 managers and numerous interim appointments. A chairman who flip-flopped from the progressive Pochettino to the defensive Mourinho/Conte and then back to the current manager who thinks defending is for pussies. A chairmen who when he did stumble on the right manager, decided it would be a good time to tighten the purse strings. A chairman who decided not to have a data analysis team because he thought it was a fad. A chairman who would rather make a ‘clever’ deadline deal than just buy the player we actually need.

I know a large chunk of the Spurs fanbase think Levy doesn’t care about having a successful team as long as the club is making money. Obviously he is a money first chairman, but I actually think he does care about success. Unfortunately, what we see on the football side of things is not because he doesn’t care. It is Levy doing his best. He just doesn’t know anything about football.

Levy has never had a clear vision of how Spurs should be run as a football club. There has never been a consistent direction or a long-term strategy. The profile for a Spurs manager should always be the same. He needs to be a progressive manager who plays passing, attacking football. It is the tradition of the club. He needs to be working in one of Europe’s top leagues, but not actually for the biggest teams. He should be making a mid-table team over-achieve, because Spurs are not going to be the team with the best squad. They need someone like Pochettino who can take a good squad and make them better.

Levy has a reputation for being odd. It is not really surprising that the team’s performances reflect the oddness of his leadership. But I do think he is trying, and maybe he is even learning. There have been promising signs.

Identifying Solanke as the player they wanted and just paying the price is a complete change of approach.

We are buying exciting young players for the future. If we had been doing it for 20-years it would have been a great strategy. It still is but since he has started 20-years late, it will be a few seasons before we see the benefit.

The financial gap to the richest clubs has closed and our transfer spend is increasing.

I do think when Ange’s reign comes to its inevitable conclusion, the next manager will be a progressive over-achiever in the same vein as Pochettino. If he is then given the financial backing that was never given to Pochettino. If we buy the top players he wants. If we have exciting young players coming through the ranks. If we have a long-term philosophy of how we want to operate as a football club. Then we might be able to say Levy has learned a little about football. And maybe we will even stop saying ‘spursy’.
Jim (THFC)

READ: Spurs are exciting?! Make that ‘exhausting’ if you are a fan under Postecoglou

Arsenal fan says Arsenal not boring
I’ve just been through the Arsenal Highlights for this season. Are all the goals via corners? No.The majority are through top class technical entertaining football. The fact that Arsenal have a card up their sleeve from corner expertise is something other teams should be aware of…so don’t give them any!

Boring? Arsenal have to win corners from outfield play. Some of their best goals have been scored this season from good outfield play e.g. v Liverpool ( who equalised from, ahem, a corner), Forest, Citeh, Villa etc. What is boring is the anti Arsenal corner band wagon not just from anti Arsenal haters but also some of Arsenal’s own so called fans.

Arsenal are in third place after a relatively difficult start to the season. At the moment Liverpool need to have their eyes on Chavski which ironically leaves Arsenal hidden.

Talking about about boring….Sporting 1:5 Arsenal or Girona 0:1 Liverpool?
Chris Croydon

Manchester United ‘objected’ to a proposed kick-off time in what is the latest in a long line of ‘really unpopular’ decisions for fans. And Jurgen Klopp.

Sir Jim Ratcliffe and INEOS have left Manchester United staff ‘disgruntled’ with some of their calls since taking full control of all football matters in February.

But the club’s latest decision is rooted more in player welfare than unnecessary cost-cutting as a noon kick-off time has been rejected in favour of an evening one.

Manchester United travel to Fulham on January 26, three days after they host Rangers in the Europa League, and it was decided with player recovery in mind that a 7pm kick-off time suited them more than broadcaster TNT Sports’ only other available slot of 12pm.

Had the Fulham game been at lunchtime, the turnaround between matches would have been just 62 hours; the minimum gap Premier League teams hope for is 72 hours, which even this arrangement falls slightly short of.

With Sky Sports claiming both the 2pm and 4.30pm slots on that day for games between Crystal Palace and Brentford and Aston Villa and West Ham respectively, Manchester United may feel their hands were tied by those pesky broadcast deals.

And Klopp might be interested to see that Manchester United were given the option not to face a lunchtime kick-off after a European game.

MORE MANCHESTER UNITED COVERAGE FROM F365
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👉 What one Man Utd player did to leave Ruben Amorim ‘furious’ against Everton
👉 Greedy Man Utd among those who MUST stop exploiting loyalty

Chelsea and Spurs were both given the same sort of decision this weekend. The former travel to Astana on Thursday and will host Brentford at 7pm on Sunday, while the latter visit Rangers so could fall back on the contingency of an evening kick-off three days later against Southampton.

That is a result of the need to balance the increased schedule of the expanded European competitions, with the Premier League advising clubs that the 7pm slot exists only as a contingency option and not something which will ever become ‘regular’.

It has nevertheless raised the question of the focus given to match-going fans. The issues for any supporters hoping to travel back from Craven Cottage on a Sunday evening – yes, yes, your joke about it being a short trip because Manchester United fans aren’t from Manchester is very funny – are obvious.

The club will provide subsidised travel options, and it should also be noted that while fans will not be able to travel back by train after the game on Sunday evening, a lunchtime kick-off would have precluded them from arriving in time.

A spokesman for the Football Supporters’ Association has laid into the broadcasters rather than the teams.

“The Sunday evening kick-off slot is really unpopular with match-goers as public transport options are limited and it’s no good for families with young kids,” they said.

“When the general slot was announced the Premier League told us it was a ‘contingency’ – but it seems to be getting used an awful lot for such a provision.

“A big part of the problem is allowing broadcasters to choose ‘conditional’ picks which are then moved when a team progresses in Europe.

“The Premier League puts broadcasters first by allowing them to select such games knowing full well conditional picks are very likely to be rescheduled again.”

READ NEXT: Ranking Sir Jim Ratcliffe’s mistakes at Man Utd: Disability budget cuts in at five

Ruben Amorim was left ‘furious’ with one unnamed Man Utd player against Everton, before taking time out to issue Amad instructions during the Arsenal loss.

At least in terms of performances and results, Amorim has endured an indifferent start to his reign as Man Utd manager.

A draw with Ipswich has been followed by wins over Bodo/Glimt and Everton, as well as defeats to Arsenal and Nottingham Forest, leaving Man Utd 13th in the Premier League table and between Ferencvaros and Viktoria Plzen in the Europa League equivalent.

A month on from his appointment, the changes overseen since replacing Erik ten Hag are clear and have been laid out in a report by ESPN.

Amorim has, for example, decided to hold ‘extended sessions on the full-size pitch in the academy hall,’ which his predecessor tended to use for warm-ups.

As a result of the packed fixture schedule Amorim has worked there extensively, with ‘tactical walk-throughs focused on player positioning during different phases of the game’ his main objective.

The Portuguese also does not hold many individual meetings with players as he wishes to foster a wider team environment, which explains his stance on the Noussair Mazraoui LGBTQ+ controversy.

Man Utd decided to scrap their usual Rainbow Laces campaign plans which have previously seen them wear a pride-themed tracksuit for walk-outs before games, as Mazraoui ‘refused’ to take part on religious grounds.

It was not a universally popular decision in the dressing room but Amorim called it “a group decision as players, as it should be”.

Therein lies another difference in comparison to Ten Hag: chief executive Omar Berrada pursued Amorim because of ‘the bond he builds with his players’, while the feeling with Ten Hag was ‘that he could be too distant from the squad’.

MORE MAN UTD COVERAGE ON F365
👉 Only Man Utd trio safe with ‘virtually every player’ for sale; INEOS ‘tempted’ to ‘cash-in’ on ‘favourite’
👉 Manchester United embarrassment continues but Coote, Newcastle and Spurs ran them close

Amorim has apparently been caught slightly off-guard by the size of the task facing him at Man Utd but he has nevertheless maintained some of his personal ideals, such as not holding traditional post-match or half-time team talks. The Portuguese instead prefers for players to ‘hold their own debrief’ if they feel it necessary, before he delivers his own verdict ‘once the emotion of matchday has died down’.

He tends to spend half-time ‘preparing his substitutes’ instead, such as when he left the dressing room in the defeat to Arsenal ‘nearly 10 minutes before the restart’ to issue instructions to Amad.

On the other side of that coin, Amorim was ‘furious’ during the Everton defeat when one of his planned substitutes ‘wasn’t immediately ready to come on when he asked’.

Harry Maguire, Luke Shaw, Alejandro Garnacho, Manuel Ugarte and Mason Mount came on in that game. Take your pick but it was definitely Garnacho.

READ NEXT: Man Utd staff ‘disgruntled’ after new ‘brutal’ Ratcliffe ‘cut’ with situation ‘worse’ than under Glazers

According to reports, Manchester United staff have been ‘left disgruntled’ after co-owner Sir Jim Ratcliffe sanctioned another ‘brutal cost-cutting’ method.

INEOS chief Ratcliffe completed his purchase of a 27.7% minority stake in the Premier League giants. As part of this deal, he has taken control of footballing matters at Old Trafford.

This saw the unpopular Glazer family give up power at Man Utd, giving the club’s fanbase a much-needed boost heading into this campaign.

However, Ratcliffe and INEOS have quickly made enemies at Old Trafford. The co-owner sanctioned a cost-cutting programme, leading to mass redundancies. They also received backlash for removing Sir Alex Ferguson’s privileges as global ambassador and hiking ticket prices.

Now, a report from The Daily Mail claims Ratcliffe and Co. have ‘put a squeeze on Christmas with the annual £100 bonus, brought in by the Glazers, being replaced by a £40 M&S voucher’.

READ: Man United secure not one but two spots in the rundown of top 10 2024 sh*tshows

It is said that ‘staff morale has been on the slide at United for months due to the brutal cost-cutting by Ratcliffe and INEOS’. This decision has ‘left some employees disgruntled’.

‘The move has left some employees disgruntled. ‘It’s worse now,’ one disillusioned staffer said. Another added: ‘At least the Glazers prioritised families.’

‘Others have taken a more philosophical view in light of the 250 job cuts that have seen many long-serving employees leave the club and those left behind having to work harder on the same pay. ‘It’s £40 more than I thought I was going to get,’ one employee told Confidential.’

MORE MAN UTD COVERAGE ON F365…
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👉 Man Utd have ‘already chosen’ replacement for Amorim starter as Euro giants face ‘major dilemma’

‘It follows the decision to cancel the Christmas party with the club hierarchy deciding that it would be inappropriate after a year of redundancies.

‘In recent years, United have held a party for their 1,100 staff – including the London office – in a marquis in the West Car Park at the stadium, at Old Trafford Cricket Ground and Victoria Warehouse. As Ratcliffe’s £1.3billion minority takeover neared completion on Christmas Eve last year, the event was moved to a suite at Old Trafford. Now it has been abandoned altogether.’

Earlier this month, a report revealed ‘INEOS were forced to backtrack on a decision’ after ‘threatening to revoke privileges given to the families of the Busby Babes at United’ after Ferguson ‘intervened’.

The Daily Mail confirm Ferguson ‘stepped in’ to block this ‘staggering blunder’.

‘Busby passed away in 1994 but members of his family have always had complimentary season tickets in the Sir Bobby Charlton Stand next to the directors’ box with access to a lounge.

‘It’s understood that the seats were moved to a different area of the stand as part of a restructure in the summer, but the Busbys lost their hospitality table and were concerned over a lack of communication from the club.

‘Ferguson intervened and spoke to United’s chief executive Omar Berrada and chief operating officer Collette Roche to ensure the family were taken care of and they were given access to the directors’ bar.

‘Sources say there was never an intention to withdraw the privileges and the Busbys will always be welcome at Old Trafford where Sir Matt remains an iconic figure having led the club from the devastation of Munich to European Cup glory a decade later in 1968.’

Man Utd have spent a whole lot of money to have barely any players who are even above average, if they have any at all…

Send your views on Man Utd, Tottenham and more to theeditor@football365.com

Those with power don’t always have sense
I have long held an unpopular belief that 90%+ of CEO’s, Owners, Founders, World leaders, and top level management do not know anything more than what your average well educated working person does. When people idol worship and hero worship these fools, I find it cringe and embarrassing as I do not consider most of these people any more or less talented than the middle management or the young guns. And one of the case studies amongst many many world renowned brands and sporting clubs is our very own Manchester United.

If suggesting Southgate as Manchester United isn’t a sackable offence, I do not know what is! On the other hand, to pay a fortune and wait for a Director just to fire him in 5 months doesn’t seem like the world class moves we were promised by Ratcliffe. If you believe in a man’s talent, no reason this couldn’t have been sorted out in a few conversations with the ego kept on the side. But in the end, I agree with the firing, but not with how this whole process has been handled ever since Ratcliffe has been at the club.

But the Manchester United circus continues. Amorim, Amad, Yoro, Hojlund, Garnacho & Bruno should stay, the rest of them need to be offloaded to whoever is willing to take them. There are 0 world class players at United and barely 5 above-average players at United. Most of the squad is not worth 10% of what United paid for them or their salaries are.

This overall reinforces my basic idea and concept: they just talk better and network better, have better contacts and are able to vie for these jobs only and only due to who they know and who they have managed to impress over their lives. Absolute fools across the spectrum not only at United, but at most clubs, the FA, FIFA, La Liga, Jaguar, Twitter, Trump Administration, UK administration and just generally the world over. Clowns who wouldn’t be given internship positions if they did not have the knack of just talking outta their ass to impress. There are always people who are amazing at top positions, but I would say that’s maybe like 10-20% of them

It’s all just throwing shit at the wall and hoping something sticks. See Spurs, Chelsea, United just to name a few. Just shambolic leadership and overall numpty decisions. I don’t want to sound like I think I am too smart, most of our fellow mailbox writers (not the insane ones), F365 writers could do a job as good or bad as the current leadership would be able to do, and we would be fired from our current jobs if we made 1% of the mistakes they do, just like Dan Ashworth was. Don’t believe me?

Answer this simple questionnaire:

– Would you buy an unknown never heard of before Antony for 90m?

– Would you hire someone, pay 5-10m for their services, wait 5 months, then fire them after another 5 months along with what I assume is a good severance package?

– Would you give an already contracted under fire manager a 2 year contract extension which increases the amount you have to pay to fire him drastically, when he is odds on favorite to be fired even before the season starts?

– Sell Sancho for 25m when you paid 80 for him and then fire the manager who was the reason Sancho doesn’t play for another 21m?

– Pay 28m for Fellaini when he was available for 23m 4-5 days prior to that (I will never forget or forgive this)

And none of this is hindsight, this is just BASIC BUSINESS SENSE. If the answer is no, then you my friends are smarter than some of the richest people on the planet. Cheers.
Aman

MORE MAN UTD COVERAGE ON F365…
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…The departure of Dan Ashworth from Man Utd is hilarious.

They spent ages chasing this guy and he’s gone after a few months. The thing is, nobody actually knows what a sporting director does, so they can always be positioned as the saviour/wrecker of a club depending on whether the club is doing well or not. Back in February when Man Utd were chasing him, Henry “Bleak Mid” Winter put out a starry-eyed tweet saying that Ashworth “builds elite cultures” and has a detailed laptop with all the strengths and weaknesses of every player.

If that’s all Man Utd wanted, they should have just hired someone who is an expert at the Football Manager games. They’d have been better off with Hunter Biden’s laptop.
Matthew

PS: It’s never going to happen for Arsenal under Arteta, is it?

Do Man Utd have any good players?
This thing about Utd’s players being good on paper – is that actually true? If you write off everyone who’s injured too often or too old, that rules out Shaw, Martinez, Maguire, Malacia, Casemiro, Mount, Eriksen, Evans, Lindelof. Has Amad been injured a lot or did ETH just not like him?

Of the leftovers, speaking as a Villa fan, is there anyone I’d want in our squad? Garnacho maybe, seems to look good without doing much. Bruno obviously but he’s getting on a bit. Mainoo might be handy when he finds the right position, but already looks too familiar with sick bay. Too soon to know about Ugarte and Yoro. Bayindir?

Otherwise: De Ligt, Rashford, Hojlund, Antony, Mr Scared of Rainbows, Onana, Zirkzee? No thanks.

So basically, I’d take Diogo Dalot off their hands without any caveats, and that’s it. How has this happened? All this soap opera about LinkedIn Tories in the boardroom might interest the broadsheets, but it seems to me that Utd are crap because they don’t have any good players. Am I missing something?
Neil Raines

Chelsea, anyone?
For anybody who might have missed Sunday’s late afternoon game but has just read 16 Conclusions: Chelsea (2nd in the league) also played in this game.
Stu, Twickenham

On the transformation of Chelsea under Enzo Maresca
Since Enzo Maresca took charge of Chelsea in August, much has been said about the impact he’s had on the team. But yesterday, the most significant change became crystal clear: confidence.

When we conceded those two early goals, I wasn’t worried for a second. Instead of feeling defeated, I simply thought, “Sh*t happens,” knowing deep down that we’d turn it around. And that’s exactly what happened.

Take Cucurella, for example. Despite his earlier mistakes, he didn’t just recover; he delivered a phenomenal performance, showing his resilience and growth. Then there was Jadon Sancho, who took our breath away with his brilliance. Neto, always alive and making things happen, and Cole Palmer—well, Palmer was Palmer. A player who just oozes class, no matter the moment.

But what truly struck me was the chemistry and joy shared between the players – on the pitch and even after the final whistle. You could feel the unity, the belief in one another, and the genuine happiness from the whole team. And let’s not forget Maresca’s brilliant tactical move at half-time, subbing out Lavia (who had been playing exceptionally well) for strategic reasons. It was a decision that paid off and showed just how much trust he has in his squad.

If this match had taken place under Graham Potter or Mauricio Pochettino last year, I have no doubt we would’ve ended up losing after conceding those two early goals. The resilience, the turnaround, the belief—those are the hallmarks of Maresca’s Chelsea.

While the coach is right to say we’re not in the title race just yet, there’s something special brewing here. This team, this Chelsea, is starting to look like the one we all know and love. The confidence is back, and it’s only going to get better from here.
Chibuikem Eleke

READ: Premier League winners and losers: Frank, Spurs, Nuno, Man Utd, Van Nistelrooy, Martin and more

The perfect Spurs team?
Surely this side is close to becoming an almost perfect Ultimate Spurs team…

Starting with the manager – main-lining Spurs DNA “to dare is to do” in a way that even Terry Venables couldn’t hope to pull off with a straight face. “It’s just who we are, mate!!” Are they really going to shoot him after beating Man City 4-0 and turning every game into a thoroughly enjoyable end-to-end shootout? I don’t think so.

In goal, Vicario has that Pat Jennings nice guy/great shot-stopper combo.

The defence is almost too Spursy for their own good. Absurdly exciting going forward, absurd at defending.

Bissouma stands up the midfield with almost world-class ability and not one single shred of common sense to go with it. You can probably add Bentancur to that list as well, and Sarr is proving to be a quick learner.

The luxury No.10 defines the Tottenham approach. Maddison is obviously not good enough, but he’s a fantastic bell weather; if he’s lazy and self-indulgent…Dr Tottenham is clearly in session!!

Up front, super-fast headless wingers are critical; an iconic, but frankly not great anymore striker is also important; and Kulusevski has that Spurs “je ne sais quoi” that I can’t quite put my finger on.

To be honest all they really need is a Maddison upgrade to an actual incredibly talented and bizarrely overlooked by England hero (hello, Eberechi Eze) and it really couldn’t get much better. FA Cup win and 8th. Happy days. It would bring tears to Gazza’s eyes.

Here’s hoping.
Matthew (ITFC)

MORE TOTTENHAM COVERAGE ON F365…
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👉 Tottenham ‘line up’ PL boss as ‘first-choice’ Ange Postecoglou replacement with sack stance revealed

Big Six?
Remember when Man U and Tottenham thought they should be in a Super League?
Mark Lewis (SWFC, 9th! How the hell did that happen?)

Arsenal perspective and questions
Look, a draw at a place where we lost last season isn’t the worst result in the world.

But what the hell are we paying Kieran Tierney for?

The lad is sitting on the bench doing nothing while Partey is playing right-back.

Am I the only one that thinks Tierney should have played with Timber in his proper position at right-back?

Who knows? Tierney could have had the game of his life giving Mikel a selection headache or boosting his transfer value ahead of the window opening next month?

And we could really do with that money as well because who in their right mind would take Gabriel Jesus off our hands?
Graham Simons, Gooner, Norf London

Bad take corner
In response to Mike LFC, Dubai and his question of worst ever football takes please see below for a few of my gems over the years:

I predicted Juan Antonio Reyes would do better than Ronaldo in England. He did not God rest him.

I proclaimed Harry Kewell to be the final piece of the Liverpool Jigsaw. Despite a Champions League winners medal…..he most certainly was not

I also proclaimed Dirk Kuyt would be on for a MASSIVE season in his 2nd year at Liverpool. He scored 3 league goals.

My most recent humdinger though was claiming after a few games into his City career, Rodri was a downgrade from Fernandinho. Il stop here lads.
Adam (Leeds)